Casing elevator



Sept. 23, 1924. 1,509,571

E. TIMBS ET AL CASING ELEVATOR Filed March 19. 1923 J'WM Patented Sept. 23, 1924.

'UNITED STATES 1,509,511 PATENT OFFICE. v

-EDWARD TIMBS AND WILLIAM S. GRAU, 0]? LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNORS TO UNION -TOO'L COMPANY OF TORRANCE. CALIFORNIA, A

FORNIA.

CORPORATION OF CALI- CASING ELEVATOR.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we. EDWARD Trims and WILLIAM S. GRAU, citizens of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and'State of California, have invented a new and useful Casing Elevator, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a casing elevator of the type generally used for raising, lowering or supporting well casings, sucker rods and pump tubing, and refers particularly to improvements in the means for holding the suspension links upon the. casing elevator.

The casing elevators of the type generally used are provided with laterally projecting ears having horizontal orifices in which are inserted suspension links for handling the casing elevator. To facilitate the removal of these suspension links, the laterally projecting ears are provided with removable link blocks forming the outer walls of the orifices which removable link blocks are held in place by vertical bolts extending through the ears and the blocks. The link block is formed with top and bottom horizontal faces machined to fit corresponding top and bottom faces on the ears. These link blocks have proven of considerable annoyance to the operators using the casing elevators, due to the close'fitting of the link block in the ears, which is necessary in order to securely hold the link block in place. The difiiculty of quickly inserting these link blocks into the ears is greatly increased if the casing elevator is roughly handled and it is found ina majority of cases that the link blocks are not generally used when operating the casing elevator, the operator preferring to depend upon the safety of the bolts them-' selves for holding the links in lace and even in some instances using no sa ety means for holding the links on the casing elevator because of the difficulties and annoyance encountered in assembling such prior type of close fitting link blocks. I

Such prior means for holding the suspension links on to the casing elevator have been expensive in manufacture requiring considerablemachine work in constructing the elevator due to the close fitting required by the link blocks. Machine work upon a device of the size and form of such elevators is expensive and should bemaintained at a minimum.

An object of this invention is to provide a casing elevator having the laterally proecting ears thereof provided with a latch for retaining the suspension links in the ears which latch does not require a machine fit 'with the laterally projecting ears-and which latch is simple and economical in construction and more readily operated and inserted in place than the type of link securing devices which have hitherto been used.

Another object of this invention, is to reduce the machining required in constructmg an elevator. An elevator embodying this invention may be formed with the laterally projecting ears cast to size and requires only the drilling of a single hole in a short section of the ears to mount the suspension link retaining means.

Another object of this invention is to provide the laterally projecting ears of a casing elevator with suspension link retaining means which do not project from the casing elevator and which are protected by the bod of the casing elevator from damage Whic might otherwise occur from rough handling of the elevator.

Various other objects and advantages of this invention will appear from the following description of the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention which embodiment is described by way of an example illustrating the invention. The invention may be embodied in numerous forms and is not limited to the particularexamples hereinafter set forth, but is of the scope set forth in the accompanying claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of a casing elevator embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary viewof one of the laterally projecting ears, the suspension link retaining means being partially in section.

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view illustrating a modified form of a laterally projecting ear and suspension link retaining means.

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawings the general type of elevator herein illustrated is the same as that illustrated in the patent to Double and Youngken No. 1,358,943, issued Novemeber 16, 1920, to which reference may be had for detailed illustration and descriptionof parts which are not herein shown and described and which do not form part of the present invention which invention resides in the laterally projecting ears and link retaining means of the elevator.

The casing elevator comprises a ma or body portion 1 provided at opposed sides with laterally projecting ears 2. is hinged to the body at one end and is engaged by a latch 4 carried by the body 1 which operates to maintain the gate closed, said latch being operatable to release the gate and permit it to be swung outwardly so that the elevator may be engaged with the Well casing.

In the present invention the laterally projecting ears 2 are each provided with a horizontal orifice 5 to receive a suspension link 6. The suspension links 6 may be of any of the types Well known in the art. To facilitate the removal of the links 6, the outer vertical side Wall of the horizontal orifice 5 is cut away substantially horizontally, as indicated at 11, with the upper outer side Wall extending slightly down- Ward to form a link retaining notch 12. The laterally projecting ears 2 are thus formed with an upper portion 13 extending over the orifice 5 and 'a lower portion 14 extending below the orifice 5. The lower portion 14 is formed with a recess 15 in the upper surface thereof, which recess provides an inner vertically extending surface 16. The upper portion 13 of the ear 2 is repessed to form a vertically Walled lateral A removable latch member 7 is provided closing the outer side of the suspension link receiving orifice 5 and operates to retain the suspension links 6 engaging the laterally projecting ears 2 when the elevator isv in operation. One end of said latch member 7 is bifurcated substantially vertically to fit over the lateral lug 17 provided by the ear 2, and is held thereon by a pin 18 preferably held in place by a cotter pin 20. The opposite end of the latch member 7 is tormed with a lug 19 adapted to be inserted in the recess 15 of the portion 14 and enga e the surface 16 thereof.

eferring to Figs. 4 and 5 the latch mem A gate 3' her 7 is there illustrated having the bi furcated end held to the lug 17 of the ear 2 by means of a countersunk pin 18 which pin is held in place by a cotter-pin 20 which fits in a recess 21 in the latch member 7 so that no part of the suspension link retaining'means protrudes from the body 1 of the casing elevator.

By this construction the suspension links 6 are held in the receiving orifices 5 from accidentally disengaging therefrom by the latch members 7. The-members 7 may be readily removed by removing the pins 19. The latch member 7 may have a relatively loose fit in the ear :2 and does not require machining. The only machining required to form the link retaining means is that used in boring a hole in the lugs 17 to accommodate the pins 18.

Various changes may be made in the specific details of construction of the elevator without departing from the spirit of" the invention.

lVe claim:

1. A casing elevator having a lateral projecting ear substantially horizontally apertured to receive a supporting bail, a lug receiving recess in said ear adjacent the aperture, a lateral lug portion formed at the opposed side of said aperture, and a latch member having at one end a lug portion engaging said lug receiving recess and having bifurcations at the other end engaging said lateral lug.

2. In a casing elevator, the combination with a major body having a gate hingedly united therewith and having laterally extending ears receiving the full load on the elevator, said ears each having a horizontal suspension link receiving orifice with a vertical extending lug on the ear adjacent the orifice and a recess on the ear on the opposite side of said orifice, of a latch forming the outer wall of the orifice and having one end hingedly mounted by said hug and having a lug at the opposite end lit ting said recess.

Signed at Torrance, Calif this 12th day of March 1923.

EDWARD TIMBS. WILLIAM S. GRAU. 

